Thursday, April 4, 2013

Bronx GOP boss who took bribe in Malcolm Smith case has long list of corruption

Joseph
(Jay) Savino, the chairman of the Bronx County Republican Committee,
took a $15,000 bribe in a plot to get state Sen. Malcolm Smith on the
ballot for New York City mayor. He also doesn't live in the Bronx, was
subpoenaed in connection with a federal probe into bidding on voting
machines and has dined out on Bronx GOP funds.

Thursday, April 4, 2013, 2:07 AM

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Bronx Party Chairman Joseph Savino poses with piles of cash.

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The Bronx Republican Party boss accused of taking a $15,000 bribe in a
plot involving mayoral wanna-be state Sen. Malcolm Smith is a sketchy
political operator and a carpetbagger who doesn’t even live in the
borough.
Joseph (Jay) Savino, the chairman of the Bronx County Republican
Committee, maintains a Bronx voting address but is listed in the federal
complaint unsealed Tuesday as living in Rockland County.RELATED: DAN HALLORAN'S FOES GET THE LAST LAUGH
His arrest in the Rockland town of Congers on corruption charges could mark the end of a dubious political career.
The 45-year-old lawyer saw his father, a former Republican city
councilman from the Bronx, sent to prison in 1985 for tax evasion and
for illegally possessing a machine gun and three pistols with silencers.RELATED: BILL DE BLASIO, CHRISTINE QUINN BUTT HEADS OVER COUNCIL PORK
Savino himself was a top aide under GOP state Sen. Guy Velella when, in
2004, the longtime Bronx power broker pleaded guilty to accepting
bribes in exchange for state contracts and housing subsidies. Savino
took over the Bronx GOP when Velella went to jail.
It wasn’t much of a prize. The borough is one of the most heavily
Democratic counties in the nation: 91% of voters backed President Obama
in 2012. But every few years, particularly during mayoral elections, GOP
bosses can dictate who gets on the ballot, forcing candidates like
Smith to woo them however they can.RELATED: WITNESS WHO WORE WIRE IN MALCOLM SMITH CASE $126M IN DEBT
When Savino, a Morris Park-raised attorney, took over the Bronx GOP, he
promised to reform the notoriously corrupt organization. But as early
as 2007, Savino and two Bronx GOP associates, Dawn Sandow and Frank
Tosi, were reportedly under investigation in connection with their work
at the city Board of Elections.
In 2010, Savino and others were subpoenaed in connection with a federal
probe into bidding on voting machines. And more recently, Savino and
his cronies have dined out on Bronx GOP funds, spending hundreds of
dollars on dinners at restaurants from White Plains to SoHo.RELATED: DETAILS IN SEN. MALCOLM SMITH ALLEGED BRIBERY PLOT SHOW DEVIOUS TACTICS
A Bronx political source described Savino, who is married with four
children, as a “fratty” character who rarely attends community meetings.
“I don’t think he has the intellect to pull off a real plot,” the
source said.
But Savino, an Iona Preparatory School and Iona College graduate, was
quite clear about what he wanted from Smith, according to the corruption
complaint: $25,000 in an envelope in exchange for his support.
“Everyone has to pay their mortgage,” Savino said, according to the complaint.RELATED: POLS, CONSTITUENTS SHOCKED BY SMITH BRIBERY CHARGES
The party boss ended up allegedly taking just $15,000 in cash from an
undercover agent on Feb. 14, $10,000 less than Queens GOP boss Vincent
Tabone.
Not that Savino actually supported Smith. Having backed former Bronx
Borough President Adolfo Carrion for weeks, Savino switched camps on
Feb. 20 — less than a week after the alleged $15,000 payment — and
endorsed ex-MTA chairman Joe Lhota for mayor.
His takedown came as a shock to at least one close associate, J.C.
Polanco has represented the Bronx GOP on the Board of Elections.
“This is not the guy we know,” Polanco told the Daily News Wednesday.
“We would have never suspected anything like this. That’s not his
character.”
But Savino has long been hungry for power and attention. In 2009, he
complained that Mayor Bloomberg snubbed him at a Bronx parade even as
Hizzoner was seeking the GOP line for his reelection. “He and his
entourage almost ran me over,” he said at the time. “The mayor never
even said hello.”
Savino and his lawyer didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday.With Ginger Adams Otisckatz@nydailynews.com and dbeekman@nydailynews.com